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Jesus Had a Mission
Apart from Mere Criticism
Let's consider a passage that discusses Jesus' ministry in general
terms:
And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. And the news about Him went out into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. And great multitudes followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan (Mt 4:23-25).In my book "Keeping the Faith" I have identified the purposes of Jesus' ministry: revealing God, bringing salvation, and polarizing people. (The interested reader may consult that for a more elaborate discussion of these items.) These are the things that Jesus sought to accomplish; everything else was secondary.
The point is that Jesus was not about criticizing or "fixing" Judaism per se, he had purposes to accomplish, and those purposes were not a reaction to the religious error of others. When any purpose is in reaction to something else, it becomes subservient to that against which it reacts.
Jesus Gave Respect
Where it Was Due
Though Jesus had stinging criticisms of many of the religious leaders
of his day, he still gave them the honor that they were due:
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them (Mt 23:1-3).Jesus did not take the "throw out the baby with the bathwater" approach that humans are inclined to take. He recognized the authority the leaders possessed, and the rightness of many of the things that were commanded. Just as importantly, he voiced those recognitions. Jesus could not be accused of being "anti-authority" (cf. 2 Peter 2:10). He wanted to change behavior, not undermine Judaism.
Later, Paul also recognized this principle when confronting a Jewish leader, though it took a rebuke to remind him:
But the bystanders said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" And Paul said, "I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, `YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.'" (Acts 23:4-5, ref. Exodus 22:28)Jesus told the Truth
In the midst of his "truth telling," Jesus always had a "better way." Sometimes the better way was the same actions with sincerity (Mt 6:1, 23:5-7), or removal of the offending things (Jn 2:13-16). He just didn't condemn behaviors or people; he always had a better way.
Jesus also spoke the truth in love (Mk 10:21). There was no malice. There was no desire to vindicate himself at the expense of another. There was no motive to promote himself in a worldly way. When he spoke truth, the intent was to bring about change, hope and life. There was no desire to destroy individuals.
Jesus Was Not Defined
by Criticism
History views Jesus as the Son of God. But even those who do not
recognize
him in this manner recognize him as a great teacher. He has not gone
down
in history as a "great critic." This is because he had his own purposes
to accomplish, and he criticized only when it was according to his
purposes.
His criticisms were not the mere ridicule of others but they pointed to
a better way.
Critics Today
Critics today run many risks that contradict Jesus' manner of
criticism.
Since I am a bit of a "critic" myself, these things apply to me as well
as anyone else with opinions of matter of controversy. So I will speak
of "us" as critics.
Purposes
We have to be careful that we have the same purposes as Jesus, and
that these control our lives. It is very easy to get caught up in
criticism
and lose context of any greater purpose or objective. Not only is such
criticism not found in the life of Jesus, it brings the corrupting
distractions
of politics, prejudice, and pride. Even as Jesus sought to reveal God
and
to bring others to him, people today need to have this same focus. When
it becomes about "revealing" somebody else and bringing others to or
from
somebody else, we're out of touch with Jesus.
Respect
We have to be careful to show respect where it is due. Jesus easily
maintained a distinction between the role, responsibility and authority
of religious leadership with the behavior of individual or groups of
leaders.
Jesus never undermined religious structure that was legitimate. Those
who
would speak against leaders do so at the risk of opposing the God who
put
them there (Romans 13:1). This doesn't mean every leader is obeying God
or is righteous, but it does mean that respect should be shown to those
in the role of authority as a means of showing respect to the
sovereignty
of God. A critic who does not show respect for authority and those in
authority
does now show respect for God.
Truth
We have to be careful to speak the truth. But there are many ways in
which people "speak the truth" in criticism that are not really truth.
Most obvious of these are situations where the "whole truth" isn't
told.
Critical facts and details are omitted, rendering the "truth" that has
been told a lie. Such "truths" may reflect truth, but they also reflect
vested interest or bias and cannot be considered the same kind of truth
that Jesus uttered.
Jesus "spoke the truth" as a critic with a better way in view. Those who would condemn a practice need to have a better way. He spoke truth with selfless love, desiring good for others and not a boost to a self-righteous ego or to put others down.
Defined by
Criticism
We have to be careful not to be defined by criticism. The criticism
of an ambient religious circumstance is not a primary mission of a
godly
person. Criticism only occurs when some circumstance infringes upon the
scope of righteousness in the view of the primary mission. Such
criticism
is not a mission in and of itself, but is a means to revealing a better
way.
From One Critic...
I always have to be careful to balance things in life. I have a wife
and children, I have a job. I have church responsibilities. I have a
home
and other assets to maintain as a steward. I desire to affect others
for
Jesus, and this website is part of how I seek to accomplish this goal.
Then there are things like exercise, relaxation, sleep, etc. These
might
not seem important, but life requires attention to them as well.
Balance
is the key.
This website will never be the center of my life. Criticism will not be the center of my life. On one hand, I would wish I had unlimited hours to devote to study and presentation of ideas here. But at what expense? Clearly, it has its place-- but not over other things in life.
I cannot allow things that I consider worthy of criticism to define my outlook on life and the church. Focusing on criticism makes one a negative person-- something Jesus was not. I always need to strive to keep these aspects of criticism in context.
I try to respect those I criticize. I try to separate the "good" from the "not so good" and the "bad." I try to never show disrespect towards those whose actions or character I might criticize. I don't criticize to tear anyone down, but always try to do so in love and in showing a better way.
I try to tell the truth. I try to understand all sides of issues-- anyone who honestly tries to do this knows it isn't easy. I try to present a better way whenever I criticize something. I most often arrive at these ideas through examination of Scriptural teaching and principals, and I present such reasons as appropriate. I don't attempt to present criticism to make myself look better than someone else, though I admit my sinful nature is tempted towards pride when I come across a better way that "really is" better and more consistent with Scripture. In these instances, I just have to remember that God is the author of the Scriptures and the ideas are his, not mine. He just allows me to perceive them.
Lastly, I will not allow myself to be defined by criticism. There is more to my gospel than "something better than what everyone else is doing." It's about God's love for mankind, shown in the coming and sacrifice of Jesus. It's about responding to the gospel in sincere faith and obedience. It's about the plan God has for each of us, if we only submit to him. It's about us having a hope of eternal life when our lives are finished. It's about using the Scriptures as our blueprint for life, allowing them to continually impact whatever religious tradition we find ourselves in.
... To Another Critic
How about you? I challenge you to compare your "criticism" to Jesus.
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2000 John
Engler.
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